Lost Dogs - What to do????

Yesterday, a mother and her daughters came to my door with a leash and a beautiful Pomeranian attached. He and Sammy liked each other. However, they were looking for his home. He had squeezed under their fence, and became their issue.

Now, in the past, I would have done the same sort of thing; taken a dog around to the neighborhood and seen where he might have come from. However, as we have so many dogs in our area, and a couple of extremely busy streets, it would only serve to exercise the dog, and myself, to do so.

There is also the element of sense, that the dog will delightedly lead you to his door...but with the traffic, that could prove deadly.

So, in the searing 92 degree heat, I told them they should stop the walking, unless they needed the workout (the dog was looking slightly dehydrated), and take him to a vet clinic, where they could read the chip, which was, most likely, implanted in him. She grinned, broadly, and said, "That's such a good idea! I hadn't thought of that!"

Now, I never really considered it either, until we had a stream of wandering pets visit the dog park, and its environs. It's one of those thoughts that absolutely THWACK!s you upside the head. All my dogs are chipped. For this reason. But I'll be doggoned if I never consider that this could be why. DUHR!!!!!!!

So, if you find a wandering dog, who seems as though he's well-fed, groomed, and well-mannered, chances are he's chipped (and this goes for the females, as well - sorry...). It would greatly benefit the shelters, as well, if they didn't keep getting calls about wandering dogs with no tags, and sometimes with no collars, if people would just take a quick drive down the block to the local vet (it doesn't have to be your particular favorite vet - just a clinic) and they have the means to scan, and help locate the owners. It's only when they aren't chipped, that the local animal shelters need to be contacted...

So, there's today's happy and helpful tip.